


Final Form

by MoonlightOracle



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: BAMF Tony Stark, Civil War Team Iron Man, Families of Choice, Hurt/Comfort, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, M/M, Not Steve Friendly, Not Wanda Friendly, Not sure who to pair Tony with just yet, Or Loki? Or Stephen?, Overprotective New Avengers, Post-Captain America: Civil War (Movie), Pro-Sokovia Accords, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Peter Parker, That man has no sense of self preservation, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark-centric, and that makes everyone constantly stRESSED, and worried, but kinda leaning towards Bucky/Tony
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-12
Updated: 2020-03-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:15:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23096185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MoonlightOracle/pseuds/MoonlightOracle
Summary: The last thing Tony expected after he closed his eyes in an abandoned HYDRA bunker in Siberia was to wake up.In a hospital mortuary.Looking...different.Huh.(Talk about unexpected developments.)
Relationships: Happy Hogan & Pepper Potts & James "Rhodey" Rhodes & Tony Stark, James "Bucky" Barnes & Tony Stark, Peter Parker & Tony Stark, Tony Stark/?
Comments: 43
Kudos: 263
Collections: Waiting for updates





	Final Form

**Author's Note:**

> Ha... ha ha... 
> 
> Soo... another WIP? 
> 
> Oops. 
> 
> Well, this is mainly just me warming up and getting my creative juices back so I can actually find the motivation to finish editing and post the new chapters of my other fics lol
> 
> It’s reallllyyy late and I should probably go to sleep now

When Tony comes to, the first thing he can register is how uncomfortable he is.

He’s lying down on a hard metal surface- _had he fallen asleep on the floor of his lab again?-_ and a cool gust of air travels up his bare limbs, raising goosebumps on his skin and making him shiver.

Wait... Hang on. Bare limbs? Why does he have no clothes on? He doesn’t remember taking them off...

A little deliriously, Tony opens his eyes. At first, he doesn’t understand what he’s looking at. Everything is dark and after he gives his eyes some time to adjust, he sits upright with a tired groan.

And then it takes a full minute of him blinking blankly, confused, as he begins to realise that that he’s covered by a thin, blue sheet, and... yep, Tony peeks underneath, confirming that he’s naked and as bare as the day he was born.

...Uhhh.

Tony gulps, throat uncomfortably dry, his eyes wide.

He slowly shifts his head to the side, the only source of illumination in the cold, ventilated room is the small stream of light pouring in through the door window from the hallway. Little by little, he starts noticing the paraphernalia around him.

And Tony is filled with a sudden dread.

“Oh no. Oh no no _no_ ,” Tony whispers, and hesitates to turn around. Because he thinks he knows where this is. He’s been in a room like this before. The metal table, the blue sheet, the hospital equipment. “Please don’t let me be right, please don’t let me be...”

Tony reluctantly turns over, and sees a row of a dozen supine, covered figures spread out before him. Oh God, oh fuck. _He’s in a room full of dead bodies._ Even though he knew what he was going to see, he still hadn’t fully prepared himself and Tony falls off the table unceremoniously and lands flat on his ass on the hard floor, a pained whine leaving him. “...dammit, I’m fucking right. _Why_ did I have to be right?”

This place is absolute nightmare fuel. He’ll never be able to understand the people that work in mortuaries. Why couldn’t have they left the lights on at least?! He has a heart condition here, are they _trying_ to kill him?

Well, speaking of death... 

Tony briskly stands up, and eyes the corner of the room where he sees a long black jacket hung up on a coat peg- and well, he’ll find out whoever it belongs to in the future and surprise them with a brand new one. Or even multiple new jackets. Because there is no way in hell he’s going to be walking around naked, despite his perfect body, thank you very much.

He contemplates turning on the lights, but what if someone outside the room notices and comes to investigate? That wouldn’t be good, would it? Tony doesn’t know, but he has an inkling that he’s _supposed to be dead_. If waking up confused and finding himself in a room where dead people are stored hadn’t been a big enough of a hint. Ugh.

After grabbing the jacket and shimmying it on, grateful that it went down to the middle of his thighs, he sees a separate area on the other side of the room that’s separated by a glass wall and door. Inside is an office-looking space, with a desk, computer and file cabinets.

Tony quietly makes his way over, purposely ignoring the deceased bodies and goes into the room, surprised that it wasn’t locked. His eyes catch sight of a file on the desk.

A file with his name on it.

The man draws closer, and he slowly picks it up.

And opens it.

After reading the first page, he kind of wishes he hadn’t.

Because there, in big bold letters, it reads:

  
Department of Health and Human Services

Office of the Chief Medical Examiner

Mount Sinai Beth Israel Hospital

**FINAL REPORT OF AUTOPSY**

**  
AUTOPSY No:** TS-590-X01

 **AUTOPSY AUTHORISED BY:** Dr. Jonah Wood

 **PERSONS PRESENT:** Dr. Carmen Fernandez, Dr. Farah Lynn

 **DAY/DATE:** 6-26-2016, Sunday

 **TIME:** 8:45 AM

**DECEDENT NAME:** Anthony Edward Stark

 **AGE:** 46 Yrs

 **SEX:** M

 **DOB:** 5-29-1970

**DATE OF DEATH:** 6-24-2016

 **PLACE OF DEATH:** Siberia, Russia

 **PLACE OF AUTOPSY:** MSBI Mortuary

_**IDENTIFICATION... DIAGNOSIS... CAUSE OF DEATH...** _

*****

Stiffly, Tony skim reads the document, only processing the important parts. Because further along is an _awfully_ detailed description of his body, and all of the wounds and damage he had.

Internal bleeding within the chest cavity.

Crushed ribs and sternum.

Cranial fracture.

And- unsurprisingly, _frostbite_.

Tony didn’t realise until now just how injured he really was.

_The video. The shield. The snow._

All of it seems distant, yet at the same time too painfully fresh in his mind.

Just even thinking about _Rogers_ leaves a bitter taste in Tony’s mouth, his throat closing up.

But all these injuries that are mentioned in the report, Tony can’t find a trace of them anywhere now. In fact, he feels perfectly fine, as if he had never been hurt at all. It’s quite alarming and suspicious... well, not as suspicious as him somehow being resurrected, of course.

Placing the file back where he found it, Tony sees a door off to the left of the office, and he slightly opens it to find a small bathroom.

“Ah _hah_ ,” flipping on the light switch, the man steps inside. But as soon as he looks into the mirror, his jaw almost drops to the floor and he can’t believe at what he sees staring back at him.

There’s no way.

No _way_.

“What the _fuck?_ ”

He... he looks completely different.

Before, his skin was already a little tanned, but now it’s rich creamy bronze, sun-kissed, and only when he moves at a certain angle underneath the fluorescent light would his skin honest-to-God _shimmer_ , looking as though he’s been spritzed with a layer of gold dust. Not to mention his hair is longer, softer, and cascaded down past his shoulders in loose waves that makes him appear weirdly majestic somehow.

The next thing Tony notices is his height. He’s taller. _Taller!_ It might be difficult to recognise however he can immediately tell the difference in his stature. He’s only taller by a few more inches, not much but still, and Tony can’t quite believe it. Although he’d never admit it out loud, he’d always hated how short he was, and this? He’s not complaining at all. He just wishes he knows who to thank.

But... most importantly, his eyes. Oh Christ, his _eyes_. Tony can’t stop staring at them, can’t tear his gaze away.

They are pools of honey. Citrine gold.

They’re much lighter in colour and much more... _shinier_ than his previous hazel brown. Was it too much to say that they glowed? Because holy shit. They’re definitely subtly glowing alright.

His face is the same, the facial hair and bone structure- however gone are the wrinkles and signs of old age. He’s 20 or even _30 odd years younger_. There is no trace of those once tired eyes, no dark circles and sunken features from the lack of sleep.

And his body... it’s fully healed. No scars. No marks. No lingering deep ache that Tony is always plagued with, or his migraines and chronic pain.

He feels light and airy on his feet. His mind isn’t fogged over like it usually is, and for once he has perfect _clarity_. Tony has never had this much energy before, so to be practically beaming with vitality for the first time in... in _years_ , is a little overwhelming and euphoric.

Because for once, for _once_ , his body is fully healthy Tony almost cries in relief at how _good_ it feels.

He doesn’t know how he was able to cope with the constant pain for so long, but he’s so so happy without.

Tony slowly reaches up to touch his cheek with his fingertips, wondering if all of this is some hallucination, some dream-like world he’s made for himself when in reality he’s bleeding out in a cold wasteland in the middle of nowhere in Siberia.

But this... all of this is undoubtedly real. He just _knows_. 

Not to mention, there’s something... _something_ about his new appearance that is screaming at him. It’s familiar, yet unfamiliar, and he can’t pin point what is it.

He’s still himself, of course, though he looks like he’s in his mid 20s instead of 40s, he’s taller, has a new length of hair and the new colour of his eyes- okay, well- basically almost everything has changed, but that’s not the point. It’s still _him_.

Tony’s not going to lie, he’s kind of digging the new look. But it’s disorientating to wake up and realise your whole body has morphed into a different appearance overnight...

If it’s permanent, Tony’s sure he’ll get used to it soon enough. This new body is honestly too attractive for its own good. It’s like the more attractive version of his already attractive self. Attractive squared.

Splashing his face with water to freshen up, Tony sighs as he leaves the bathroom, coming back into the office. He sits down at the desk and wiggles the mouse, and the monitor jerks to life showcasing the username and password screen. Tony chuckles, he knows exactly what to input- because it’s written on a small post it note at the bottom left hand corner of the screen in scruffy handwriting.

Seriously, come on now. Security can be so lenient these days. But then again, Tony supposes that no one expects a dead body to suddenly not be dead anymore and go through their things.

Tony goes onto the internet, and a news notification pops up on the dashboard.

“Emergency press conference with the CEO of Stark Industries...-Colonel Rhodes makes an appearance alongside Virginia Potts to deliver news regarding-...”

What?

Tony clicks on it quickly, and a video fills up the screen.

It’s Pepper. And Rhodey.

They’re at the podium, in front of a large cluster of news reporters and journalists and Pepper is trying so hard to keep herself together, but it’s obvious with the slight puffiness of her eyes that she had been crying. She’s made an effort to cover the redness up with makeup, but Tony can see right through it. Rhodey is no different, clutching onto the sides of his wheelchair so hard that his knuckles are white, face calculatedly blank. Vision and Happy stand off to the side.

Pepper’s expression is steady, but her trembling voice betrays her. “-our apologies on the late notice of the conference, however the urgency of the situation has forced us to this point... -after an altercation with the written rights of enhanced individuals, the Sokovia Accords which many know we have worked towards in revising, and what the public have deemed as the ‘Civil War’ that took place as a consequence... -an incident has occurred in Siberia...-it has come to my deepest regret to inform everyone here today that Tony Stark has passed away three days ago on Friday the 24th of June after succumbing to the fatal injuries he received-”

Tony stares blankly at the screen.

Oh.

Oh _no_.

“...Well, shit.”

The whole world now thinks he’s dead.

Not good. Or is it? Tony messes around with the computer for a bit, until he is able to access the private channel he had created sometime ago that would connect him to his AI, wherever he may be in the world, as long as he had access to the internet.

He enters in the code that only he knows.

_< <Establishing Connection...89%... 100%>>_

**“Wha- Boss? Is that you?”** FRIDAY’s voice echoes through the speakers.

“Hey, hun.”

 **“You’re- you’re alive? How is this possible? I had to scan your body for identification, and I saw all your injuries... your heart had stopped. You were _dead_ , Boss- I’m sorry, I’m unable to comprehend...”** Her voice trails off, and she sounds so young, so fragile. For a brief moment, Tony’s heart aches.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that, baby. I don’t know what’s going on either. I was dead, and now I’m not... and I’ve also gotten a big makeover,” Tony huffs, “But yeah, I’m still alive and kicking. Think you could call the stealth suit over to my location? After that, we need to figure out a plan of action for... whatever this is.”

**“Of course, right away, Boss. Anything for you.”**

“Thanks, FRI baby.”

 **“And Boss... Tony?”**

“Hmm?”

 **“I’m... I’m glad you’re back.”** She says softly.

Tony smiles into the dimly lit room, somehow feeling calmer than he ought to be, considering everything that’s happened. He doesn’t know why he’s alive or why his appearance has changed, but... right now, he has people he needs to see.

“Me too, FRIDAY... Me too.”

**Author's Note:**

> Vote who you want Tony to be paired with :)


End file.
